Psychotherapy in transplant patients

Abstract

Patients living with organ dysfunction and transplantation face an array of emotionally demanding and time-intensive challenges. Not surprisingly, anxiety, depression, and insomnia are prevalent in the transplant population. Even patients who have fully successful transplants must cope with changes in life and roles, adverse side effects of medications, and potentially new complications. Poor psychological functioning may present in a variety of ways: lower quality of life, increased nonadherence, and poor engagement in medical care. This chapter reviews psychotherapeutic interventions, including supportive, existential, and structured therapies, aiming to enhance coping, facilitate adjustment to living with a new organ, and improve a patient's sense of purpose and self-esteem.